ALLETE Clean Energy and Xcel Energy have signed five-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) for ALLETE’s existing Viking wind facilities in southern Minnesota.
Comprising eight GE turbines, Viking was developed by EDF Renewable Energy and began operating in 2003. The wind site was acquired by ALLETE Clean Energy in 2015, and the original 15-year PPAs were set to expire this month.
Located near Lake Benton, the Viking facilities, with a combined capacity of 12 MW, as well as the larger Chanarambie wind project nearby, make up ALLETE Clean Energy’s Northern Wind unit. The Chanarambie site is also contracted to Xcel Energy.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Xcel Energy to create a power contract extension that continues to provide clean, affordable and reliable energy to its customers while providing greater revenue certainty for our ALLETE investors, consistent with our strategy,” says ALLETE Clean Energy’s president, Allan S. Rudeck Jr. “ALLETE Clean Energy continues to expand its collaborative track record with our customers to deliver creative and innovative clean energy resources they expect while efficiently operating and optimizing our facilities. Xcel Energy continues to demonstrate their pioneering innovation in preserving and extending power purchase agreements with their suppliers, both large and small, in providing clean energy to Upper Midwest customers.”
